There's No Place Like Home for the Holidays
by theartistformerlyknownaswmlaw
Summary: A late Holiday offering originally posted to the D/G and WD lists. Weasley family fluff from the Wildest Dreams universe sometime in the future.


A/N: HARRY POTTER, characters, names and all related indicia are property of Warner Brothers. Thanks to betas Tessie and Strega Brava. Originally published on the Wildest Dreams and DracoGinnyFanFic yahoo groups.  
  
  
  
There's No Place Like Home for the Holidays  
  
  
  
"Sssh!"  
  
"Ooh, yeah, right there…. Come on!"  
  
"Faster, faster…will you hurry up?"  
  
"Quiet, they're going to hear us!"  
  
"Mmmm…Perfect!"  
  
"Oh! Right…"  
  
"Ssssh!"  
  
"Now!"  
  
"Surprise!"  
  
With a gasp of shock, the lights flew on in the Burrow's family room to reveal all the Weasley children, plus spouses and grandchildren, gathered together in the small space. Molly and Arthur looked from the smiling faces of their loved ones to the beautiful decorations: a live tree adorned in scarlet red bows, silver tinsel, blinking multicolored lights and glass balls in shades of red, silver and gold; a string of gingerbread men cut from red and green construction paper and tied to the fireplace mantle; bunches of mistletoe decorated with white ribbons hanging from the doorways; a wreath of holly and pine hanging over the fireplace, its bright red berries contrasting with the deep green leaves; and, under the tree, a large pile of gaily wrapped gifts.  
  
"Happy Christmas Eve, Mum and Dad," Ginny whispered, pulling them in from the doorway as Charlie and Bill pulled off their parents' snow dusted coats.  
  
"But…but…we weren't going to do Christmas this year," Molly murmured, still dazed. As she looked from face to face, she continued, "Ginny…you were staying home with the babies…. Ron! But… You, Mione and the children were going to her parents. George, you and Katie were going skiing. Fred, Angelina, you were taking Freddie to Disney World. Bill! Oh Billy, you weren't going to come home, you said, no time! Charlie…" she trailed off as her son wrapped his arms around her tightly.  
  
"I know… I know I said we couldn't get in until Christmas day. I managed to get an extra day off," he smiled, kissing his mother's cheek that was growing wetter by the second as tears spilled from her eyes.  
  
"Where's Percy?" Molly asked hopefully but not seeing him in the room.  
  
"He's around here somewhere," Harry laughed, scooping his stray godson up off the floor from where he had been chewing on a fallen candy cane, plastic wrapper and all. "Surprised, Mum?" he asked, handing the child off to Ron before embracing Molly in a hug.  
  
"You made it too?" she asked in return, laying her hand on his cheek, tears now flowing freely. "With Pansy?"  
  
Harry nodded, pointing over to the couch where his very pregnant wife was happily ensconced. She waved, calling happily, "Wouldn't miss it for the world!"  
  
"Mum! Dad!" Percy called from the kitchen, two very tiny twin girls in his arms. "Sorry, these two take after their uncles," he explained, looking in Fred and George's direction. The elder twins gave their best 'who us' expressions as they relieved their brother of Charlie's toddlers so he could give his mother a proper greeting.  
  
"Percy, I thought you were going to be at a Ministry event?" Arthur asked, shaking his head in disbelief at all his children had done.  
  
"I lied," Percy grinned, earning a shocked gasp from the others in the room.  
  
"Don't get used to it. One time event I'm sure," Penelope teased, crossing the room to give her in-laws a hug hello. "So are you properly surprised to see us all here?"  
  
"Yes! Who's idea was this?" Molly responded, still looking around the room in shock.  
  
"Draco's," Ginny answered with a smile, pulling him over from where he had been standing out of the way.  
  
"Draco, oh…" Molly cooed, grabbing him and squeezing him in a tight hug. "Thank you!"  
  
After he was released and had caught his breath, he smiled awkwardly. "No one should be alone on Christmas Eve."  
  
"All of you…I cannot believe you did this!" Arthur laughed as he took his newest granddaughter from Ginny's arms. "Thank you, all of you!"  
  
"Dad, after all you have done for us, no thanks are necessary," Fred whispered in a rare moment of seriousness, his son balanced on his hip.  
  
After a buffet style dinner, as there was just no room for the entire extended family in the kitchen, and the plates were cleared, they settled around the tree for the opening of presents.  
  
"Now you kids," Hermione instructed, coming back into the room after changing her older son's diaper, "all have one each. Remember, Santa Clause comes tonight, there will be many, many more tomorrow. Tonight's about Mum-mum and Pop-pop," she explained before taking her place next to Ron who had their baby asleep on his lap.  
  
As Harry began flying presents across the room, causing the older children to shriek and laugh, and Pansy to groan about black eyes and concussions, Molly turned to Draco who was quietly sitting on her left, one of his twins sleeping on his shoulder. "Thank you, Draco."  
  
"For what?"  
  
"This was your idea, wasn't it? You could have been with your Mum, Dad and your siblings. You didn't have to do this," she whispered, watching Percy's eldest daughter as she stuck a bow into her father's hair.  
  
Draco smiled, "There were places we all could have been, but we chose to come here," he (what?), shifting the baby from his shoulder to lie across his thighs. "Honestly, though, I did have ulterior motives. It was as much for you two as it was for me."  
  
Molly looked at him questioningly as Freddie scrambled into her lap, showing her a new toy. "What do you mean, dear?"  
  
"Look at her," he answered, nodding his head in the direction of where the rest of his family was sitting. Ginny was on the floor, leaning against Ron, her's and Draco's eldest son excitedly bouncing up and down in her lap. Both of Ginny and Darius were laughing as Bill, sitting on the couch across from them, made silly faces at baby Victoria. "This is what she lives for. She's happy, which makes me happy."  
  
Molly once again found herself at the brink of tears. She patted his hand in a motherly fashion. "You make her happy, Draco. Which makes both Arthur and I very happy. We wouldn't have imagined it but…" she paused, laughing quietly, "you are a very welcome addition to our family, Draco."  
  
"Mum-mum! You haven't opened one present!" Darius shouted from across the room, making everyone look up from their conversations to where Molly sat.  
  
"Yeah Mum, open something," Ginny laughed, wrapping her arms around Darius's shoulders.  
  
"Come on, Mum. Tear one open!" George encouraged, tossing Paige in the air, ignoring Percy's frantic glares at seeing his year old daughter being flung around.  
  
"Go on, Molly. Open something," Arthur called, pausing his conversation with Charlie's wife, Hannah happily bouncing on his knee.  
  
"I think I've already gotten the best one of all," she whispered, only Draco and Freddie hearing her.  
  
"Me too," Draco whispered back, catching Ginny's eyes and smiling. She winked, eyes darting from Draco to the mistletoe hanging between the family room and the kitchen, before resting her chin on Darius's head. Shaking off the vision of his most favorite Christmas present, he stifled a blush.  
  
Molly's voice invaded his thoughts, quickly bringing him back to the moment. "There's nothing like a Weasley Christmas, is there Draco?" she asked, opening the box Harry had just sent soaring to her.  
  
"No, there's nothing quite like it." 


End file.
